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- Minimum Order $100.00 -

Thinking about having something Gold Plated?

Here's how our company works...

1. Determining a gold plating cost estimate by phone or e-mail.

Just call us toll free at (800) 531-1300 or click here.  We will first ask you a few simple questions about the characteristics of the item(s) you want to have gold plated.  

Try to pre-measure the dimensions before calling if possible, note the physical condition and describe to us over the phone or by e-mail the item(s) you want to have gold plated.

Knowing the exact dimensions prior to contacting us is not critical, although it gives us a better idea of the item(s) size and unique characteristics and we can give you a more exact plating cost estimate.

2. Condition of the item(s) you want to gold plate.

It is important that the item(s) you are sending in are in fairly good condition.  The pre-existing condition of the item(s) usually determines the quality and appearance of the finished product.

After we have a description of the item(s), we will calculate an estimated gold plating cost and give you a verbal or written quote over the telephone or by e-mail.

Some items can be restored that are in really bad shape. Every item is different. It all just depends on how deep the oxidation and "pitting" are in the base metal, the detail of the surface of the item, the physical shape, thickness of the item, etc..

The old finish (chrome, gold, silver, copper, nickel, etc.) is stripped and the "base metal" (the metal the part was cast of made from i.e. brass, zinc, white metal, pewter, steel, etc.) is meticulously wet-sanded with a regiment of different grits and grades of emery cloth by hand to remove deep corrosion and "pits", polished and buffed on a polishing lathe and cleaned for the plating process.

Restoring the old gold plated surface is a lost art and not many real professionals are still around (or alive). The whole restoration and gold plating process involves many years of experience and "hands-on" work to reproduce a masterpiece! 

3. Sending your item(s) to Three Rivers Gold.

If you determine you want your item(s) to be gold plated, the next step is to send us the item(s) you want to be plated. We suggest wrapping your item(s) individually in tissue paper, newspaper or bubble wrap and placing them in the center of a corrugated cardboard box using packing media (newspaper or Styrofoam peanuts) to cushion your items for the journey through the mail to our factory.

If you are uncertain about preparing the package yourself, we suggest that you take your items to a retail shipper like "Mail Boxes, Etc." or "PostNet" to prepare and ship your box to us.  Upon arrival to our plant we will assess the item and contact you with an exact final gold plating cost before the work is performed.

With your approval, Three Rivers will proceed to plate your item with a beautiful pure .999+ gold metal finish.

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- DISCLAIMER -

We try to restore and gold plate just about any metal item. We can sometimes plate what jewelers and most people think is scraped or "too far gone". There may be extreme oxidation and pitting on the item. This takes a lot of skill and years of experience to accomplish professional results. Some jobs may take a long while. Most items can be plated and shipped within days or a week or two, but some of the hard to plate, or damaged items may take months to perform the appropriate amount of work that the item needs to look great. It can take very specialized chemicals or tools and many hours of hand work by an skilled artisan. In order to hold the price down, we usually work on these parts during slow periods. The extra time is really worth it, you will be very excited about the amazing results!

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4. Shipment of your parts from our factory back to you.

Your items will be returned by UPS, FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service usually within one to two weeks. Ask about our "GOLD EXPRESS SERVICE" for a fast 1-2 day turnaround!  

You don't necessarily have to contact us first by phone or email, just send us your items and we'll first call you with a quote before we perform the work! If for some reason we can't preform the work, we will ship your item back to you at no cost to you!

If you prefer, you can send the items directly to us without contacting us. In that case, we will assess your items and contact you first with the plating quote before performing your work. Please include in writing your telephone number or e-mail address and the best time of the day to be contacted.

5. Types of items that we work with.

We electroplate a genuine "pure 24 Karat Gold" or other precious metal finishes onto a wide variety of items that have original surfaces that are worn, oxidized, slightly rusted or originally coated, lacquered or painted.

We re-plate items that have worn, cracked or peeling plated finishes (like old worn gold or silver plating, oxidized brass plating (blue-green discoloring), worn or oxidized copper/nickel and/or chrome plated surfaces, worn rhodium and platinum plating. We can fix faded or weathered gold plating which have been plated by other platers or companies.  

We strip and refinish the surface of your item(s). Each piece is handled with the highest degree of skill and restoration craftsmanship.

We can plate gold onto a wide variety of base metals such as:

Aluminum (all alloys and grades) Stainless Steel (all alloys and grades) Pewter and White Metal Castings Zinc and Lead Castings Pot Metal Castings Steel and Iron Brass and Copper, titanium, etc. Almost any other metal or alloy.

6. Items that we do not gold plate.

Please do not send us non-conductive items such as glass, plastic, wood, etc. they will not plate. Do not send in real karat jewelry, these items are already solid gold. Your local jewelry can polish, buff and clean your old karat jewelry to give it a new finish.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When contacting us, please understand that we are a service business and not a standard manufacturer or retail outlet. We don't take orders and sell things out of inventory. We offer a custom electroplating service for to customers. If we are busy in the shop, or taking other customers when you call, don't hang up the phone. Just leave us a message! You are welcome to leave any detailed message about your item(s) that you would like gold plated or any questions that you might have about your order. Briefly describe to us the condition of the items' present surface (pitting, worn off gold, painted, etc.).

You can email us a picture of your item so we can quote you a price at sales@goldplater.com.

When contacting us by phone, leave your name, telephone number(s) and/or email address and the best time to contact you. We will call you back with a quote and any additional questions that we may have about your item.

DELIVERY TIMES: 98% of jobs will be done within a week or two, while other tougher jobs might take a month or two or even longer. We try to refurbish and electroplate just about anything in gold and platinum, but some jobs require a lot of custom hand work (metal stripping, pit fillinf, hand sanding, polishing and buffing), and special chemicals that we may need to order in for specific jobs. We have transformed items that jewelers thought were unplateable and scrap metal. Unlike most plating shops that plate chrome on steel, or nickel on brass, we have to contend with every base metal imaginable. To accomplish this, it takes a lot of equipment and skilled, experienced artisans. Please remember that sometime, good things just take time!